Furnace-charging apparatus



May 25 1926. 1,586,177

L. D. COLE FURNACE CHARGING APPARATUS Filed April a, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR 4 May 25., 1926. 1,586,177

L. D. COLE FURNACE CHARGING APPARATUS Filed April a 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 lll! 1* INVENTOR MMM BY f,

AT T RNEY May 25 1926.

L. D. COLE FURNACE GHARGING APPARATUS s sheets-sheet s Filed April s 1924 I INVENToR BY C Anw

Patented May 25, 1926.

"LELAND DALE OGLE, OFFSHARGN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORJL instan lares..

iria; 'r

lTiO. llis al planroflr'a nieltin'g furnace 'einbod'yilng my invention; Fig. 2 isra side.: ele- `vat-ionithereof, partly in sectiongilfig. .I3-is i a# int'` elevation thereof; andiFi'g. Zfis a 5' detail showing 1 .the n'ieans for: closing the furnace bliargin'gl aperture.

My -i-vention'relatesito charging appa- 'ra-tus for electric ory otherfineltingt furnaces "in whiohtheinetal.-isohargedcold. -The l usual prac`"*e1lin-chargingafurnace with cold metal o: shovel fthe charge! intoa the kfuriiace" tl'irou'gh-"side .doors .inl theifurnace. This practicefis 'extrem-ely :laborious and 'time' 'consulti-inganni permits .the furnace to .5 coolldouail Ibetweenr heats". to such anextent -thatnot onlyvis vaiilargeamount of heat ``w`*v-alsit"ed,but itf-fisv also'injurious to the' furnace lining. My improved apparatus is designed to' -lessen' the ltime .required -for charg- 0 by 'theusual method; reduce fthek amount of 'labor required7V andfminimize `both `the loss of heat-"from ycoolingfand the injury to the! furnace vlining. To this end? liliave pro- 'vided-1acharging port, kpreferably arranged i `\inthel"roofof the furnace, intocwhich 'the cold in'etal'niaylb dniitted from. a charging fb'oxforother-conveying or charging ineans. I also providea removable"closure for vthe charging' port'so that lit: may-be closed there- 0 ibyllandr seitledvaft'eri the furnace has-beenV charged. .Myfinventionwalso comprises the variousiifeatures which` l shall lhereinafter describe. fand' c'lain.

*Referring* to t-he drawings,- 2 indicatesv a s lfulriiace, which l have shown as- Ian-electric 'furnace of the tilting ity-pe: having Athe usual charging doors 3 and electrodes 4, of which I haveshown three. yLE1-:tenthng through the roof 5 of the furnace and preferably fori Ward of the electrodes is the charging port 6. Then the charging operation is in progress a chute, funnel, or guiding means 7 is lowered into the port 6 and is supported therein from the frame-work 8 of the fur- 7 nace by the extension 9 and the hooked arms 10, in such manner that the roof 5 of the furnace will be relieved of the weight of the chute 7 The bottom ll of the chute 7 is inclined toward the center of the furnace y so that the metal as it is charged will be guided toward the center of the furnace. The upper edge of the chute is in the form of an outwardly and upwardly flaring lip l2. which serves to catch and guide the Inaterial as it falls thereinto. The conveying zmeansiias shown; comprises :a: ycharging -boX 113 ihavingfaforward open end la.

- it.E ai closureV :or i-plug. i si preferably; coin-prisedi -o 17. il i 18. pivoted'. toi thebra'clet` he closureA l5 :is 'suspended' froina lever i 9 on: .the frame- .'worlrf 8. Thevouter; en'dofthe lever: 'lSffgisf so formed that an pipe hanclle-Qanay be slipped? reon: to; Give; vincreased leverage. rin; l=1nov ling the; closure: E into and routfofvtherlport 6. :iAachain-.Ql attached atrits` ,ends to=;the

- fraineeworl'cr-S s, and to: the: lever 1. 181; outside arranged. that` fit will take up; and support therweight of :the: closure l5 bothizwhen: the closuressi :in position in- .the` port f6, 'i asis `shown ini-Figui, andualso in-non-operativc position showncin Figs. i lv and 3, .-.forI the n, purpose of-aelieving the -roof- 5 of `the-weight of athe closure.

- When the furnaeewiswto be; charged the electrodes 4L `may. be elevated-alto prevent injury to their depending vends by the falling 'niet-al, ,andi zt-hefclosure; 151 is-swung. fby athe ilever S-outiof the port Gand [to one side,

ffranief, and itscarnisal() are liookediin the notches 22 of the frame 8. Thecharging boxes 13. with- 4the.; metal therein, 1.' which is fusuallyfin thepforin of--sorap7 are ,lifted by a .crane (noty shown) one at a time andlowered down until theforward--en-dof4 thefbox rests-onfarcrossrpiece v23. of the :frame -loe- .tween uprights 2li-,which maintains the -forward end of the box in alignment with the chute 7. The crane lifting chain (not shown) is released from the shackles 25 at the forward end of the box and the rear lifting chain 26 is hoisted by the crane so as to tip the box 13 sufficiently to slide the charge of metal down into the chute 7. The inclined bottom 1l of the chute guides the falling metal toward the center of the furnace. If a suicient distribution of the metal has not been obtained by the charging operation just described the metal may be distributed by slice bars or its distribution equalized by shovelling an additional amount through the usual charging doors 3 in the sides of the furnace.

After the furnace is charged, the chute 7 is removed and the closure 15 is swung over and lowered into the port 6 by the lever 18. The closure is then sealed with fire clay, the electrodes 4 are lowered, and the furnace is ready for the melting operation.

My improved charging apparatus is eX- treinely effective in operation. I have found that by its use not only is the time required for charging very greatly reduced, but the life of the furnace roof is appreciably prolonged, and it enables substantial economies to be effected in the cost of labor and of melting. A further advantage lies in the fact that the operatives are much less enposed to the intense heat of the furnace than with the old practice, and hence there is less difficulty in securing labor for charging furnaces equipped with my invention. My invention also permits the use of a cheaper grade of scrap, such as lathe turnings and the like, since such fine scrap because of its bulk can not be handled readily by the ordinary shovelling method, and therefore heavier grades of scrap are normally utilized.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any mechanical equivan lents of the features shown ane described, or portions thereof, but recognize that various structural modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

that I claim is:

l. In furnace charging apparatus, a roof for the furnace having a chargingv port therein, a removable chute seating in said port, and a removable closure supported on the frame of the furnace arranged to be lowered into the port after the charging operation.

2. In furnace charging apparatus, a furnace having a roof, sides and supporting frame-work; a charging` port in the furnace roof; a removable chute seating in said port; a'support, forming a portion of said frame-work, for the chute and for a container for the metal to be charged, the support comprising means for holding the container in alignment with the chute; and means for closing the port after the charging operation.

A inet-al melting furnace having roof, sides and supporting frame-work, a charging port in the roof, a removable chute seating in the port, a closure arranged to be lowered into the port after the charging operation, the chtite and closure when seated in the port being supported from the framework to relieve the furnace roof from strain.

4l. A metal melting furnace having roof, sides and supporting frame-work, a charging port in the roof, a removable chute seating in the port and having an inclined bottom to direct the charge toward the center of the furnace, and means for closing the port. after the charging operation.

5. A metal melting furnace having roof, sides and supporting frame-work, a charging port in the roof, a removable chute having a supporting engagement with the frame-work whereby the chute is suspended in the port during charging, and means for Closing the port after the charging operation.

6. fr metal melting furnace having roof, sides and supporting frame-work, a charging port in the roof, a removable chute for the metal to be charged arranged to be supported in the port, and a closure depending from a lever pivoted to the frame-work, the closure being arranged upon actuation by the lever to be swung into said port to close it and also into an inoperative position during the charging operation.

7. A metal melting furnace having roof, sides and supporting frame-work; a charging port in the roof; a chute for guiding the charge through the port; a closure arranged to be lowered into the port after the charging operation; the closure when seated in the port being supported from the frame-work to relieve the furnace roof from strain.

LELAND DALE COLE. 

